title: Fast automatic measurement of mitral annulus excursion using a pocket-sized ultrasound system.
abstract: We present a fast, automatic method for mitral annulus excursion measurement using pocket-sized ultrasound (PSU). The motivation is to provide PSU users with a rapid measurement of cardiac systolic function. The algorithm combines low-frame-rate tolerance, computational efficiency and automation in a novel way. The method uses a speckle-tracking scheme, initialized and constrained by a deformable model. A feasibility study using 30 apical four-chamber PSU recordings from an unselected patient population revealed an error of (mean ± SD) -1.80 ± 1.96 mm, p < 0.001, when compared with manual anatomic m-mode analysis using laptop scanner data. When only septal side excursion was measured, the mean error was -0.27 ± 1.89 mm, p < 0.001. The accuracy is comparable with previously reported results using semiautomatic methods and full-size scanners. The computation time of 3.7 ms/frame on a laptop computer suggests that a real-time implementation on a PSU device is feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. sten.r.snare@ntnu.no
authors.forename: Sten Roar
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Snare
authors.forename: Ole Christian
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Mjølstad
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orderud
authors.forename: Bjørn Olav
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Haugen
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Torp
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008904:Miniaturization; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity